Thursday, June 25, 2009

john atkinson grimshaw

bloggy chums from all over, thankyou for sticking with me as i slowwwwly worked my way through my bonnefoy poetry piece. i love his poetry so much that i couldn't bear not to share it and i made myself feel a little less guilt over it all by tucking other stuff in there as well. anyhow, some art today for a change.

john atkinson grimshaw painted landscapes and street scenes that captured remarkable detail with an almost photographic intricacy while retaining the emotive features of the scene through his extraordinary skill with light. john was self-taught and used photographs to ensure accuracy. at one point he painted over photographs but the art world was not quite ready for that sensation and so he backed off. my favourite works of his are those categorized as "moonlights" such as this . . . .
a lane in headingley, leeds. 1881

however, i think he had considerable success with common street scenes such as this lovely depiction of an "autumn evening leeds." 1883

and this beautiful work entitled "yorkshire early spring". 1867

to view more of atkinson's work then you should take some time and visit this gallery.

4 comments:

The Weaver of Grass said...

Steven, I love those street scenes - they are full of atmosphere. I feel I should know John Atkinson Grimshaw and yet I can't think in what context I know him, so thank you for the reminder. Thanks for visiting me often - I am just going to add you to my blog list.

steven said...

hello weaver! john's paintings are so evocative and for me they take me back to my most romantic memories of england. i was born in manchester but the trips we took to the dales and the pennines and a later trip to the heart of dorset, left me marked to this day. i haven't been back in england for over twenty years but i still call england home. if you nip over to the site i linked at the bottom of the entry, you'll find all sorts of gorgeous artwork set largely in yorkshire but in other almost as lovely places as well. thanks for visiting. see you! steven

Delwyn said...

Hi Steven

I love the autumn evening leeds best.
Perhaps because it reminds me of Japanese prints but the lacy arching trees give a great perspective and mood to it...

Happy Days

steven said...

hi delwyn, i hadn't thought of the connection to japanese prints but there are features of that in some of his work when i go back and look again. i love the mood brought on by his ability to capture light, especially moonlight, so well. steven